workplace health promotion

1. Workplace Health Promotion in
the Czech Republic – Status Quo
Analysis
Ludmila Kozena
Jarmila Vavrinova
National Institute of Public Health, Centre of
Occupational Health,
Prague

2. Historical background
• Beginning of the 20th century - enterpreneur Baťa - Baťa
works
• Communism era
– Health care for workers provided by the company physician
– Special care for some professions (soldiers, policemen, miners)
• nineties – many new enterprises, changes in attitudes
towards health promotion
– 1998 – founded the Czech National Network for Workplace
Health Promotion
– 2002 – founded the Forum of Health Promoting Organizations

3. Current concept of the WHP
• Traditional occupational health and safety
activities (risk assessment, occupational
health system,…)
• + activities for introducing healthy lifestyles
• + development of internal strategies in
enterprises

4. Duties of the employer
• Labour Code
• Public Health Protection Act (2000)
– To ensure the safety and protect the health of
employees at work
– To establish the risk factors and monitor their level
– To minimize and prevent job risks
– To ensure the availability of the first aid
• Categorization of jobs (2001)
– According to a degree of workload and possible effect
on health
– Health check-ups contingent on a job category and
special health risks

5. Workplace Health Promotion
• Not obligatory (not based on legal
regulations)
• Activities beyond the standard
• Government resolution no. 1046/2002
(Health 21): „by 2015 10% of enterprises
will be involved in observing the principles
of healthy organizations“

6. WHP network in the CR
• State level
– Ministry of Health
• National Institute of Public Health Prague – Centre of Occupational
Health - NCO ENWHP
• Regional Centres of Health Promotion
• Regional Centres of Occupational Health
– Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
• Occupational safety and health inspectorates
• Trade unions
• Private level
• Private health protection and health promotion services
• Enterprises
• Insurance companies

7. Centre of Occupational Health of
the NIPH Prague
• Activities in the field of occupational health
(reference activities, development of new
methods, education, counselling,…)
• Activities in the field of WHP
– NCO of ENWHP
– Coordination of regional efforts
– Education, courses for prevention specialists
– Assessment and evaluation

8. Competition for the Title of „Health
Promoting Organization of the Year “
• Quality Criteria of Workplace Health
Promotion
• 2005, 2006,…
• 17 enterprises with 200 – 9 000
employees were awarded the title
• Predominantly production plants (light
industry)

9. Competition for the Title of „Health
Promoting Organization of the Year “

10. Future perspectives
• Increasing of interest of enterprises in WHP
• Key challenge: involvement of SME´s in WHP
• Built up of an operational network of regional
cooperating centres
• Incorporation of WHP concept in educational
system
• Motivation of health insurance companies
• Project Move Europe – employ for meeting our
goals